Oftentimes, in working with machines, systems, or assemblies, it becomes necessary or desirable to interchange or substitute their components or subassemblies to respond to differing conditions, or objectives. In such situations, it is desirable that such components or subassemblies be stored in a protected condition where they can be maintained in an organized fashion, and one which provides easy access to, and retrieval from the storage location. Such characteristics are particularly important in the case of components or subassemblies which have a similar appearance, are of a type difficult to handle without injury, and the working function of which benefits from protected storage. In the case of circular saw blades adapted for connection to motorized saws, for example, different tasks require particular types of saw blades with differing characteristics, such as the numbers and types of saw teeth, teeth with varying angular sets, and so forth. Furthermore, such saw blades benefit from organized storage, not only because it permits the accurate selection of a particular blade from among blades with only subtle variations, but also because such storage normally can be structured to provide the blades from risk of damage which would dull or otherwise injure their teeth. In addition, the sharpness of the saw blades poses a serious risk of injury when removal of the blades from storage is attempted. Many of the same, as well as other problems and considerations are involved in the storage and handling of different disc-shaped articles.
The advantages of organized storage, and ease of withdrawal of stored articles has long been recognized, and many suggestions have been made for systems and devices which make provision for avoiding the difficulties described. One such device, that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,316,039, for example, attempts to provide such storage for sound record tape reels. The device there disclosed is designed to respond to many of the same objectives as those achieved by the device taught herein, for example, the organized storage and dispensing of relatively thin, disc-shaped articles. However, it pursues such objectives with a distinctly different device, one employing storage units comprising deeply channeled carrier holders attached to closure plates which pivot outwardly from the housing of the device. While the device taught by the patent would appear to be capable of achieving its design objectives; unfortunately, it would necessarily entail a number of disadvantages, including undesirable fabrication costs due to the relatively involved, multi-component design of its carrier holders. In addition, it would require provision for considerably more operating clearance in front of the housing, in order to allow the pivoting of the holder units to a position in which access to the stored tapes would be possible.